O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Soon I’ll be posting more beautiful pictures from the rest of our amazing Yoga for Congo events. But this very personal post has been on my heart for days.

I felt like I had both big and little glimpses through so many experiences we had on our trip, in addition to constant discussion and activities related to Congo, that showed me the depth of the suffering that is felt by somany people.

It has kept me up at night and has quite literally broken my heart. I have felt so broken by the sadness of people I care about.

Though my own scope is so very small, it has reminded me of Enoch, in the scriptures, when he is shown all things: “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.” (Moses 7:41)

There are times when it seems that hope is gone. I came home from our trip, exhausted and sad.

Snow has blanketed the earth and made it very quiet. I have found myself staring out at it, constant questions in my mind. What is the answer to so many of these desperate sorrows?

As snow has tucked us in, my heart has turned to Christmas. And in that turning, I have found my answers again, just as Enoch did: “And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced…And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy.” (Moses 7:47, 67)

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel,
to thee shall come Emmanuel!

I believe in a Savior who knows and loves us individually, and who is mighty to save. I believe in the Atonement, so all-encompassing that it can heal every hurt, bind every broken heart, and make every wrong right. I believe in a Love so personal and so great that it can heal all things.

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4 Responses

Jessie

How funny, and how fitting that we both chose to write about the Atonement today, and it’s power to make men whole. I love you. I could scarcely read this entire post through the tears in my eyes. You are wonderful, I love you, I love you, I love you.